Friday, 30 January 2009

It's Friday and I'm brimming with excitement at the imminent arrival of my new speakers. My old ones have been on their way out for a while. On Tuesday while I was listening to Iron and Wine there was a sudden burst of static followed by this annoying buzz that sounded a bit like having an electric shaver permanently switched on and that was the end of my trusted companions of almost six years.

I've tried giving them a bash, shaking them and yes, reasoning with them (did I mention I have a Physics degree?) but they refused to fix themselves, honestly. Being as they weren't that good in the first place, (the sound they produced before they took up shaving was pretty awful) I decided I owe it too all those musicians who spend time tuning their instruments and agonizing over the pitch of their recordings to get a better pair.

So here I am, waiting for the postman to buzz our ultra loud doorbell and no matter how much I prepare myself for this I know it'll make me jump, it gets me every time! Darn bell!

While I remember, here are a few bits of news hot off the press:

**UPDATE** Alessi (Alessi's Ark) will be performing on Dermot O'Leary's show at 4:15pm on Saturday playing some songs and having a chat. Click here for details

Blissfields 2009 line up has been announcedClick here for the Blissfields website.Tickets are on sale, click here.

Great acts like Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and The Men They Couldn't Hang

Coachella 2009 line up has been announcedClick here for the Coachella WebsiteYou can find ticket info here

Bandstand Busking ALERT - THIS WEEKENDIf you find yourself in London this Sunday at about 1pm near Northampton Square Bandstand, Islington (EC1V) why not check out the latest Bandstand busks. This time its Esser and Speech Debelle.For more details click here.

All that's left to say is C'MON MR POSTMAN MAKE MY DAY! I DARE YA! ARRIBA! ARRIBA! ANDALE! ANDALE!

I have to add right now the actual likelihood of the speakers arriving is not looking great but saying that our postie does move at a snails pace and frequently delivers our post to the wrong address. Ah gees!

Thursday, 29 January 2009

Muxtape has been reincarnated and has come back as a minimalist platform for bands to promote their music and listeners to create mixes.

Muxtape started out in March 2008 as a site where you could upload your own MP3's or selected MP3s from a library on their website and create well a sort of online playlist/mixtape for anyone to hear. By August 2008, the RIAA had shut the whole thing down. It's a long story and if you're interested in hearing the Muxtape version, here it is.

Muxtape is now picking itself up, brushing themselves down and starting again only this time their goal is (as quoted on their website) "facilitating the discovery of new music" and you'll still be able to create a mix but only from the music available on the site.

They declare that "artists will never be forced to display ads" and "in addition to streaming music, we will enable bands to easily sell downloads, issue tickets, create and sell merchandise, network with other bands and listeners, and track the way their music is being heard across the system. An API will be available to expand the platform even further."

Apparently we'll have to wait a little longer for the full whistle and bells website but in the meantime the Muxtape homepage is featuring 12 very basic profiles of artists (Of Montreal, Francis and the Lights, Cexman, Adron, Girl Talk, Dan Deacon, Apes and Androids, Old Gold, Reggie Watts, Amanda Palmer, Tony Bambino and Vulture Realty) with other artists being encouraged to sign themselves up for free shortly.

The site is looking extremely minimalist right now i.e. there's really nothing much to see so I'll be keeping an eye out for updates over the coming weeks and hopefully soon there will be something more for me to review.

Ian has grown a beard and started wearing chunky jumpers - OK not really but he has been to a folk concert and here's what he had to say about it.

If I was a god fearing creationist and my time had come to enter the nirvana based afterlife, I would expect ALL angels to look and sing like Kate Rusby. There were a few "firsts" for me last night - the first time I had seen English Folk music's hottest ticket, my first visit to The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and my first hands-on visit to Celtic Connections.

Celtic Connections is a clever festival - still expanding year on year, it has blossomed from a celebration of traditional Celtic music to embrace contemporary and traditional folk, world, roots and allow musicians from other genres to come along and try their hand in a friendly environment. The scandal a few years back was Billy Bragg playing under the "Scottish granny" rule however attitudes have progressed and it is an all embracing two weeks of all that is good about music. Also, it is also a superb way to brighten up the slowest month of the year.

The love affair between Celtic Connections and Kate Rusby grows year on year and an expected sell out audience were thrilled to welcome Kate on the back of a great 2008 album and a collection of Christmas traditional folk songs released in December which certainly went down well in our house as an alternative to Nat King Cole. None of the latter were played however with such an extensive back catalogue to choose from there was as Kate said "A lot to get through". Rusby's songs are a paradox - she is relaxed, cheerful and friendly on stage, her voice a bittersweet overture backed by some fine musicians however the tracks are black. This one is about a bitter man. Here's one where the hero gets stabbed at the end. This song is about a woman who drapes herself over her lovers grave. All very Nick Cave! But it's not down, it's a happy night brightened further with banter about craft fairs, cooking and stories about her dog.

Plenty of thought was given to the arrangements and as well as a quality four piece backing band, Kate called at times on a ten strong string section ( called red skies) and a variety of passing folk worthies which emphasises the close knit community feeling that Celtic Connections boasts. This is where the venue came into its own - at one stage with 16 musicians on stage (it reminded me of a Red Wedge collective) nothing was lost musically and in spite of her petite stature, Kate Rusby always looked perfectly in control.

Kate Rusby's relaxed attitude made it appear that she was playing to friends and the vibe was that this was an annual pilgrimage for many - for those of us who were new it certainly made us want to hear more and to get involved in other parts of the local folk scene.

Talking of which, support came from the excellent Kris Drever who has a growing reputation locally and showcased a cross section of traditional and contemporary numbers with a couple of guests joining him throughout the set. Drever enjoyed the big occasion and left a good impression. I'll be trying to catch him again soon as he tours with John McCusker, once of the The Battlefield Band and an acclaimed producer and Roddy Woomble, ex Idlewild front man as they bring roots and folk to a new audience.

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

This isn't the name of a new band, this is the form London's music venues now have to fill out as part of a risk assessment procedure for live events in London at the request of the Metropolitan police.

The long and short of it is the music organisers have to fill out 4 pages of info 14 days before the event takes place including the type of music to be played and names, aliases, phone numbers, addresses of performers and the ethnic background of the likely audience. This law would permit the police to ban any live music if they fail to receive personal details from the performers 14 days in advance. Does all this sound right to you?

Sunday, 25 January 2009

Here are a few of the gigs going on in London this week that caught my eye. This is by no means a definitive list of ALL gigs happening so please leave a comment if you think I've missed any worth knowing about.

(In case any concerts have changed dates/ changed venues/ been cancelled or I've made a typo, you'd be wise to check out the venue websites before heading out the door because it's still pretty wet and mighty cold out there, the other day even my TV remote control was too cold to hold!)

Over the past week, I've been enjoying more Island life while the other half has been freezing in sub zero temperatures in Quebec. Back to London tomorrow, during the journey I hope to finish reading John Peel's biography Margrave of the Marshes and before you panic, I'll be taking the train not driving. Strangely enough, (well it was to me anyway) the very beaches I've been walking along all week skimming stones and taking photos are the exact same beaches (according to the book) John Peel spent most of childhood holidays visiting and some of his young adult life working near, now what are the chances of that happening?!

Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a great week.

Chalky

PS Here's proof that Boots used to sell vinyl records, I found this bag in my folks garage:

What is your blog is about?Trying to unearth gems by relatively unknown artists that deserve whatever attention they can get. I have a particular fascination with seemingly perfect pop songs that, for one reason or another, never make it to the radio. I spend a lot of my time scouring the net, hunting for the next song that will have some sort of magic effect over me. Ideally, I like to post up three songs a day, seven days a week, but I won't post for the sake of it – it has to be something I can genuinely enthuse over. Basically it's about taking an exoteric approach: making known what is otherwise secret or unknown.

What started you blogging?I began a website in 2004 because I felt that no one was reviewing music from a consumer's point of view. When someone is feeding you with promo copies of albums, you're not approaching it from the same perspective as someone who has shelled out a little chunk of their earnings for it. But since then, people have stopped buying music and I now get paid to write about it. Funny how things turn out.

First record you bought?I can clearly remember buying the single of De La Soul's 'Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)' on cassette. My dad had (and still has) the biggest music collection I've ever seen so I never had much reason to go out and buy music but I think that was the first time I bought something independently with my pocket money.

Last piece of music that got your heart racing?By the time you read this, I'm sure it will have changed. Recently, 'Tunnelvision' by Here We Go Magic and 'Hooked Up On us' by Jay Jay Pistolet, but when I originally started filling out the answers it was 'Abandon' by French Kicks and 'No one Does it Like You' by Department of Eagles.

Last gig that made you say "Wow"?That's easy: David Thomas Broughton. I go to so many gigs that sometimes I forget why I'm doing it. When I caught a show by David Thomas Broughton in July, it answered that for me. His concerts have a magical quality to them: they're compelling for a variety of reasons but it's when you realise that what you're seeing is a one-off, you can't help but feel exhilarated. If you make a two-hour round trip by yourself to an empty bar in a place you've never been before and come away feeling like that…It reminds you what pure art is supposed to feel like: life-affirming.

Where do you find out about new music?Online message boards, blogs, press releases, emails from artists themselves, my own random scouring of MySpace, the radio, magazines, word-of-mouth and small independent record shops.

What would you like to see more of in the music world?An increased break-down between artist and audience. Things like the Take Away Shows and MySpace have done a lot for this already but given the current state of the industry, I think the concept of outright fan sponsorship – as outlined by Wired editor Kevin Kelly - may become feasible one day. It's just an extension of the 'pay what you feel it's worth' strategy as used by Radiohead, except it would be done in advance as a gesture of good faith in artists you already believe in or ones that show genuine promise.

There's also an amazing weekly radio show called This American Life which has an online archive going back years. We don't have radio journalism of this quality where I'm from.

What songs would you include on the soundtrack to your life?My whole life? Well, being a music geek, I have made a couple of mix tapes to that theme so if I'm going to have a stab at it, it might as well be comprehensive:

In 10 years time music will be...I think it's difficult enough predicting what shape the music industry will be in two years from now, so it's impossible to say. I'm not so sure whether the widespread and largely un-policed piracy that's going on at the moment can last. I have a feeling the powers-that-be will find a way to implement restrictions on ISPs and there has even been talk of airport security checking people's laptops and mp3 players for illegal material.

If you could have 3 musicians over to your place, they would be...I've been fortunate enough to have encountered most of my favourite artists in one way or another and I have found that they are rarely how you imagine them to be. So for that reason alone I'd stick with what I know: Ira Tuton (Yeasayer), Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear), and Vincent Moon would provide the right mixture of laughter, friendliness, and inspiration (respectively).

If I asked you one more question what would it be and what would be the answer?

'Will you?''Yes'

Big thanks to Cian for taking the time out to take part in this interview. I highly recommend you check out his blog (http://www.seewhatyouhear.com).

Department of Eagles - No One Does It Like You

If you're interested in reading the interviews I've carried out so far in the 'Music Lives On The Internet' series, here are the links:

Here's a list I derived from the SXSW official list listing the bands announced so far that I would try to see if I were going; sadly I'm not because I'm not on their list so instead I'll just sit here and keep myself busy making lists from their lists.

Here's my list:

Au Revoir Simone - Beautiful voices and they designed a T-Shirt for the Yellow Bird Project (see here) so they're OK with me.Andrew Bird - Great blogotheque videos.Conil - My friend Joel plays in this band, they're very good.Grizzly Bear - Daniel Rossen is a pretty talented man! Check out Department of Eagles as well.Alessi's Ark - Alessi is a very talented sweet singer who helped me find a tube station once when I was a little lost coming back from seeing Department of Eagles. Have missed a few of her shows for various reasons beyond my control but will definitely be catching her live this year - just not at SXSW :(Laura Marling - Amazingly strong voice, scarily young and talented.Metronomy - Bright lights, dance routines, electronic, great live shows!Mumford & Sons - **Here's a bit of news! - Check out this link for tickets to their ICA (London) show on March 4th going on sale tomorrow @ 10am (Friday 23rd Jan)- Alessi's Ark are the support - this will be an awesome gig!** They're also doing a free instore at Banquet records in Kingston, London the next day (March 5th), see this link, not much other info about this on the Banquet Records site yet.Langhorne Slim - My favourite live show of 2008.The Tallest Man on Earth - He's very tall... see the video at the end of this post! Yikes!Rod Thomas - Rod played a Living Room Concert for TLS at the end of last year, amazing voice, very talented and lovely man.Frank Turner - He's playing a whole host of free instores in and around London next week, check out this link for details.

I guess Soko has quit since the list was produced so won't be playing.

There are probably loads of other bands I would love to see on the list but I couldn't look at it any longer because it was starting to make me feel dizzy.

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

"This one was our first single" remarked Lurkers' front man Arturo Bassick, halfway through their support slot "I'd been playing bass about a week. 32 years later I'm not much better!"

A bit of self depreciation always endeared a band to me and at this point I realised why I'd braved the 45 miles and 60 minutes along the M8 on a Monday evening despite the snow and credit crunch. You can't beat a bit classic pub rock influenced punk rock.

The big man's bass playing had come on a bit since the summer of '77 however the addition of Dave Kemp on guitar, previously of personal favourites Penetration and Chelsea (the band- not the fancy dan millionaires who squeezed past the mighty Southend United in the FA Cup) gave the old Lurkers standards some fresh flair. The Lurkers do have newer songs and Dirty Harry is a particular amusing ditty. Their classic single Shadows also came over strongly however Arturo's stories were as entertaining as the songs and many of the audience could remember the hyperbole surrounding the banning of all punk gigs by City Of Glasgow council - funny how these seem innocent days now.

The Buzzcocks always draw a decent crowd - possibly influenced by the use of their name in the very contrived TV quiz show and tonight the "new school" mixed with the diehards from back in the day ... the two groups were indistinguishable apart from one clique being predominately fat, bald and dancing better to the reggae and two tone records that were played between the sets. (So why did Althea and Donna never do a follow up to Up Town Top Ranking?)

Like many punk bands playing the nostalgia circuit the song writing duo of Diggle and Shelley have been joined by a couple of young guys on drums and bass. On this occasion the stick man was doing the lion's share of the work. Their tour is billed as "Another Bites - where we'll be playing our first two albums - Another Music In A Different Kitchen and Love Bites - in their entirety + other hits!" Yup, they kept there word however in places Pete Shelley struggled with the vocals - particularly on the faster numbers. Perhaps difficult for me to be impressed as I always found tracks like Harmony In My Head where The Diggle sings are my favourite anyway . Still all the favourites got battered out and tracks like Noise annoys and Autonomy were very well received. I bet however when Pete Shelley wrote Nostalgia in 1978 he didn't expect to be playing it thirty years later.

Nonetheless as well as allowing some old punks a night away from their fortysomething lifestyles, the night would be judged a success as the young team pogo'd and moshed their way through the set. Arturo summed it up nicely for me "We kept it simple - some of the bass lines by these new punk bands are so complicated they sound like Yes!"

Monday, 19 January 2009

Here are a few of the gigs going on in London this week that caught my eye. This is by no means a definitive list of ALL gigs happening so please leave a comment if you think I've missed any worth knowing about.Monday January 19thSpecial instore @ Rough Trade East featuring Franz Ferdinand @ 9pm (250 capacity)

Apparently at 3:15pm today There were still a couple of wrist bands left so if you fancy going to this intimate concert wrap up warm, jump on you Segway Personal Transporter (why not?) and get yourself down to the shop (see photo at bottom of this post for instructions.)

(In case any concerts have changed dates/ changed venues/ been cancelled or I've made a typo, you'd be wise to check out the venue websites before heading out the door because it's still pretty wet and mighty cold out there -this warning will be updated as soon as Spring arrives, hurry up Spring, this Winter business is turning me into a hermit! )

The Apollo will now be known as HMV Apollo, while The Forum becomes HMV Forum.

An interesting move by HMV and one that I think could possibly work to keep them in the music business. I was in my local HMV this morning and realised that 7/8ths of the shop is now taken up by DVDs, Blu Rays, Console Games and ipod paraphernalia. I had to stomp right to the back of the shop to find the tiny music section, that's quite a change to how things were even just a few months back when HMV still seemed like a music store rather than a Blockbusters. HMV are one of the few remaining High-street entertainment retailers left in the UK. I guess they're hoping buying into live music venues will save them from going the same way as Zavvi (from whom they've just bought 14 stores in a deal thought to be worth £2 million) and Tower Records. Lets see.

Thursday, 15 January 2009

OK I'm going to try to share with you a few quick thoughts on the film Slumdog Millionaire without giving away the story for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

What's it about?:The story of the life of an impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik, who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?"

This film has already won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the Critics Choice Awards and all four of the awards it was nominated for at the Golden Globes and is nominated for about a million others.

Does Slumdog Millionaire deserve all these awards? Is the film really that good? Short answer is absolutely. I was completely captivated from beginning to end. Not only did the plot keep me intrigued (wow it's surprisingly hard to write about a film without giving away the details!) the combination of excellent cinematography and a well chosen soundtrack really brought the story to life. In one scene (you'll know the one I mean once you've watched it) I felt I could even smell the story! The director Danny Boyle has done a fantastic job and deserves all the awards he gets for this film but lets not forget the starring actor, Jamil Malik.

Jamal Malik is played by Dev Patel, you might have already seen him in Skins. From what I can gather, Skins is basically the only other acting this guy has done. He's 19 years old and has just won the British Independent Film Award for "Most Promising Newcomer", National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award (NBR Award) for "Best Breakthrough Performance", the Black Reel Awards for "Best Actor" and "Best Breakthrough Performance" and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for "Most Promising Performer" in 2008. Not bad for his second acting job!

I would strongly recommend you see this film, at the cinema if possible because it sounds and looks awesome. Perhaps don't expect the feel good ending that the press seems to be suggesting you'll walk away with, it's more of a content feeling that you've just seen a really good film. I'm giving it a 8.5/10 but it's very close to being a 9.

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Wednesday is no longer just Wednesday in our house, it's Orange Wednesday which means two tickets for the price of one at our local cinema. Without this deal you wouldn't get much change from a £20 note for two tickets which seems like an awful lot of money for a couple of hours at the flix.

btw, have you ever won any money? I like playing the two penny machines (see photo) on Brighton Pier (last of the big spenders!) but I always end up putting my two pence winnings back into the machine and then coming away with nothing. Then some hardered professional two penny machinewatcher lurking in the background (I swear they exist!) spots you running out of money and has been watching you fill up the machine, moves in, puts a couple more two pence pieces in and bam, a whole pounds worth of them drop. You know the kind of people I mean. I never learn.

Monday, 12 January 2009

Here are a few of the gigs going on in London this week that caught my eye. This is by no means a definitive list of ALL gigs happening so please leave a comment if you think I've missed any worth knowing about.

(In case any concerts have changed dates/ changed venues/ been cancelled or I've made a typo, you'd be wise to check out the venue websites before heading out the door because it's mighty cold and wet out there.)

Hypothetically speaking, I would be begging to get into the Animal Collective concert at Koko's tonight, stealing to get into Ronnie Scotts to hear amazingly talented musicians play tracks from the fantastic Kind of Blueby Miles Daviswhich is celebrating it's 50th year as is Ronnie Scotts and borrowing to get in for a second night at Ronnie Scotts for more Miles magic.

When I was a penniless student I spent many a night sitting around in basement Jazz clubs with my friends, usually huddled round one little bowl of ice cream with five spoons enjoying the free music and the warmth. I made it to Ronnie Scotts once, saw the man himself perform, it was a really nice evening.

Sunday, 11 January 2009

(Stagecoach: bad quality photo taken from the back of the audience @ Rota, Notting Hill Arts Club)

On Saturday afternoon me and mine put on just about all the clothes we own and stepped out into the freezing January afternoon for our first ever visit to a free afternoon of live music called Rota (sponsored by Rough Trade Records and 405' magazine) at the Notting Hill Arts Club.

Starting at 4pm we arrived a little late mainly because I was writing Saturday's blog and well, we got a bit lost. Luckily we literally just missed the pretty violent pro-Palestinian march that had left the street where were headed littered with posters and sticks and loads of shoes that had been thrown at the Police. There were plenty of protesters still hanging around waving Palestinian flags but the violence had thankfully passed.

The club itself wasn't very easy to find, there's no big (or little) sign saying Notting Hill Arts Club above the door well that we could find anyway, we had to ask a doorman who was pretty grumpy, (in fairness he was standing out in sub zero temperatures) and then once we'd got into the downstairs club we realised to our dismay the place was packed and we couldn't even get into the room where the music was happening.

While we listened for the first act to finish and then people to move out I couldn't help but think to myself what a strange old world it is we live in. There were all these people in this basement sipping on happy hour drinks (did I mention they do a happy hour from 4-8pm?) enjoying the live music meanwhile just yards above them on the street all hell had been breaking loose with people throwing shoes and sticks at the police. London can be very disjointed.

Anyway, on to the music. The bands playing at Rota on Saturday were as follows, in order of appearance:

Laura HockingMy AmigaStagecoachWilliam

OK I've never actually heard of any of these bands before but in fairness, only William is actually signed to a label.

Here are my thoughts on the performances:

Laura Hocking:Unfortunately for us, we arrived very close to the end of her set which was a shame because she sounded pretty good. I was listening from round a corner and couldn't actually see her on stage. Think along the lines of a slightly less powerful Laura Marling style voice singing sweet story telling songs with a bite. The audience seemed to really like her which is why we couldn't even get in the same room!

My AmigaLooking and sounding like a cross between McFly, The Artic Monkeys and The Kooks, My Amiga's sound wasn't offensive in any way but it just wasn't doing anything for me. Possibly suffering from sounding too much like a lot of other bands from the past 5 years. 10/10 for effort though, they really looked like they were enjoying themselves up there.

Stagecoach:Pure indie pop and if that's what you like, this band does it very well. They might be from Surrey but there's an unmistakable rich American indie influence that comes through in their sound. Along with what I heard of Laura Hockling probably the best performance of the evening.Good example of their sound is the track No Ded Enz on their MySpace page.

William:The only signed band of the evening, William gave a pretty tight performance blending fast indie body twitching bass rhythms and melodic riffs while the signer (who isn't called William -none of them are) tortured his voice in a semi shrieking style. We had to leave a few songs in but what I heard sounded decent. Check out their MySpace to hear for yourself.

On leaving the club, desperate for food we opted for a quick packet of crisps each served to us by the most grumpy shop keeper I've ever encountered in London who charged us £1.20 for the privilege. It was time for us to leave Notting Hill...

Saturday, 10 January 2009

I've always had a secret desire to host my own radio show and with the advent of relatively cheap podcasting kits maybe this is the time to give it a go! That said I haven't always been comfortable with the idea of recording and listening back to my own voice.

I think I was about 19 when someone suggested my voice might sound good on the radio but at the time I was yet to leave my first answer phone message for fear of my voice sounding silly so any dream I held of hosting a radio show was light years away. Finally a good friend purposely stopped answering her phone when I called so that I had to leave a message. It worked, and I have now lost at least part of the fear of hearing my own voice.

A few years later, while I was working for a large IT company, I was asked by a colleague who was working on a project providing an automated phone answering system whether I would like to be THE recorded voice for his system. He said he had heard me talking in the office and thought my voice would work well. A little taken aback and chuffed to have even been considered, I took him up on his offer and started recording. I was very nervous at first, it was a little intimidating sitting in a room with lots of business men listening to playback of your voice, but it ended up being great fun and for a while I was the voice of the MOT helpline in the UK.

I've also had a brush with being a weather presenter during a random training session in some BBC studios. It was just the same set up as you see on TV; I was standing in front of a blank screen pointing at imaginary clouds and cold fronts reading off a monitor whilst being filmed. I got to keep the recording afterwards but I think that actually seeing myself on TV and hearing myself at the same time was beyond my comfort zone. The DVD is now hidden under a pile off other DVDs, unlabelled, and will probably come back to haunt me one day when I least expect it. I'm sure I will respond with a hot flush and a quick dash towards the door.

As opposed to the video experience though, I do now feel comfortable enough with my voice to dally with the idea of podcasting. I have done some research on the hardware that’s around now for that purpose and if you fancy yourself as a podcaster there are some great products out there that WIRED recently ran a review on. The one that attracts my attention in particular is the Alesis USB Mic Podcasting Kit. For $100 you get headphones, a microphone and a CD copy of Audacity. In the review they mention how the microphone installs easily, the headphones "sound decent" and overall gave it an 8/10 which for Wired is pretty good. I haven't tried one of these out so I can't speak from experience but at a $100, I'm definitely interested. We'll see...

I also spotted a fantastic new recording device unveiled at CES this week called the Zoom H4n mobile audio recorder. This device should be very useful for podcasters, journalists and musicians. Read all about it here.

Have you ever recorded a podcast? Can you offer any advice to anyone starting out?

Friday, 9 January 2009

It's been a strange day so far. This morning I viewed a cottage that was the most filthy stinky home I think I have ever walked into (if you haven't been following this blog, we're looking for a new place to live). This was a shame because the actual property was full of early 19th century period charm (hidden under all the dirt) including a huge working fireplace. It actually still had outside toilets (but there were inside ones as well of course!) and a cool rather large hut at the end of the garden which would have made a great study and place to listen to and play music. Unfortunately the family currently living there have run the place into the ground so badly building up serious amounts of dirt and the smell, oh god the smell! It needed to be completely gutted, possibly fumigated and in parts re-built! How can people live like that? Sometimes London letting agents will try to sell you a property not fit for even a rat to live in, this one (who hadn't seen the property before today) looked suitably embarrassed and reassuringly disgusted at the state of the place and didn't even begin to try.

We walked away from the cottage disappointed yet again at not having found a new place to live and so the search continues (hope you don't mind me blogging about this instead of music right now).

Unfortunately for me, that walk took me to the dentist where I had to have a bit of work done that required some anaesthetic. I got back an hour ago and I'm basically sitting here not able to feel one side of my mouth with a tongue that feels extraordinarily huge waiting for the pain to kick in. Eating lunch has been fun.

Before the Novocaine wears off I'm going to draw your attention to the free Bandstand busking in London this weekend featuring The Leisure Society and Emmy The Great. Definitely worth checking out but I'd recommend wrapping up warm and possibly bringing along a hip flask.

Thursday, 8 January 2009

Over the last couple of days I've been mainly introducing myself to every letting agent in London in the hope that they might have a super nice well priced flat for us to rent. It's tough work especially in the Arctic conditions we're experiencing in London right now. The whole ordeal is getting more and more depressing with every stale smelling, paint peeling, dirty crumbling over priced hovel I view (seriously, London is a bad place to rent!) so it's always nice to hear some music from a person that always seems to make me smile, Londons very own Nick Mulvey.

Throw your shovel to the ground - Nick Mulvey

Nick also plays the hang for the Mercury music nominated instrumental group Portico Quartet.

He'll be playing at the Proud Galleries in Camden on January 12th - check out his MySpace page for details.

This next video is not the best of quality but the song is great and Nick's guitar playing leaves me speechless! I saw him play for the first time in September last year and cannot recommend him enough.

Tuesday, 6 January 2009

Florian Schneider has announced he is leaving Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk will continue as a band but with only one of the original founding members, Ralf Hütter still in the line up. Florian didn't perform with Kraftwerk during their 2008 tour so it's not a huge surprise that he has chosen to step down from the bridge.

"Florian Schneider leaves Kraftwerk after a 40 yearspartnership with Ralf Hütter.This partnership has generated an incrediblemusic and huge advances in music technology.Florian is a great musician, always seekingthe perfect sound through technology. Refinedand perfected sounds and vocoders to impossiblelevels of perfection.Our thanks for the state of art that led toKraftwerk's music all these years.And our wishes for success Florian's newprojects as well as to this new Kraftwerk."

Throughout their career, Kraftwerk became known for not giving many interviews, preferring to remain in the comfort of their Kling Klang studio in Dusseldorf experimenting with new electronic sounds and popping out to indulge in their other passion, cycling. Here's why they have never given many interviews:

Brazilian non-interview with Florian Schneider - 1998

The current line up of Kraftwerk is as follows:

Ralf Hütter, Henning Schmitz, Fritz Hilpert, Stefan Pfaffe (who replaced Florian Schneider). This is the order from left to right as they stand on the stage.

Monday, 5 January 2009

Today I've been busy searching around for a new place to live. There's a bit of pressure to get this sorted since we only have just over three weeks left in our current flat so I've been searching online for available flats and then driving around with my camera taking photos of what the flats really look like, checking out the areas and then bringing my findings back to TLS HQ to discuss with the husband. Apparently it's a renters marker right now due to the economic problems so fingers crossed I'll be able to find a steal.

As a result I've not been able to dedicate much time to reading and researching for todays blog post but I would like to share with you a video of a guy who I saw play live at the very end of last year and who's voice and overall performance really left a lasting impression on me. His name is Johnny Flynn and his band is called the Sussex wit. They play a blend of bluegrass and folk and are really fun to watch live. I'll definitely be on the look out for tour dates to see him play again.

Here's a taster:

Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - 'Eyeless In Holloway'

I'll write a more in depth post about Johnny once I've found a place to live which will hopefully be very soon! In the meantime here's a link to an interview he did with The Times.

If you'd like to hear more of his music you might like to check out his MySpace page which has 5 songs on the MySpace player plus there's a free download - bonus!